Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

Chapter 538 Mysterious Ruins

On the east side of the collapsed rock, there is a natural rock fissure that extends from the surface of the rubble pile into the deep rock strata.

The crevice was less than two feet wide and about four feet high, barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways. Li Yuan used his earth-moving technique to clear away the rubble blocking the entrance to the crevice, revealing a deeper passage below.

Li Yuan squeezed into the crevice and moved downwards along the passage.

Spiritual energy formed a thin layer of protective aura on the body's surface, isolating it from the rubble and dust on the rock wall. The array's celestial pivot continued to operate, monitoring the structural stability of the surrounding rock layers to ensure that a secondary collapse would not be triggered during the advancement.

After descending about twenty feet, the crevice in the rock suddenly narrowed to less than a foot.

We can't go any further.

However, the perception of tracing the spatial traces showed that the source of the residual spatial fluctuations was about ten feet away.

Li Yuan retreated to a wider section of the crevice, channeling his earth-moving technique and spiritual energy to carve a new passage through the rock face. His late-stage Golden Core cultivation allowed for extremely precise control of his spiritual energy; the force he applied during the carving was just right, ensuring neither the structural stability of the surrounding rock layers nor the speed at which he could advance downwards.

As the last layer of rock broke through, a musty smell wafted out from the crack.

This was no ordinary underground air. It carried extremely faint spatial fluctuations, as if residual spiritual energy accumulated in a space sealed for hundreds of years had been suddenly released.

Li Yuan widened the opening to a size that allowed him to pass through and crawled inside.

The moment your feet touch solid ground, your perception changes abruptly.

The outer rock crevice passage was only about twenty feet deep, with an opening no more than two feet wide. But after passing through the last layer of rock wall, the space before us far exceeded our expectations.

The array's perception detected an anomaly at the edge of space. The four walls of the dome space were covered with extremely complex spiritual runes, and the arrangement of these runes was highly consistent with the spatial folding principle recorded in the permanent entry of the spatial folding micro-principle.

Space folding.

This underground space utilizes spatial folding technology. While it appears only thirty zhang wide from the outside, the actual interior space is far greater. Spatial folding compresses and folds a much larger space within a limited physical area. From the outside, it doesn't seem large, but its true scale can only be perceived when one is inside.

Li Yuan took a few steps forward, and his spatial perception extended accordingly.

The actual space is at least three times the size of the exterior.

The work of the Xuanyou Sect.

Li Yuan looked around.

The domed space contains no room structure. There are no partitions, no stone chambers, no passageways. The entire space is a completely open area, with an unobstructed view from the entrance to the opposite rock wall.

There is an array in the center of the space.

A broken formation.

The array patterns radiate outwards from the ground, but most of them have broken or dissipated, leaving only the portion near the center with a complete structure. The array's perception system automatically analyzes the direction and connection method of the remaining array patterns.

The core structure is a space observation array. It is used to establish a stable observation window in the void, enabling remote sensing of spatial structural changes deep within the void.

Space observation array.

Look at the surrounding rock walls again.

Besides the spatial folding spirit runes, numerous other types of spirit rune traces remained on the rock wall. These included spatial rift openings,

There are space-stabilizing types and space-compressing types. The types are extremely complex, and the arrangement does not resemble a formal array layout, but rather a draft left after repeated experiments.

Li Yuan walked slowly through the space, his senses scanning the remaining spiritual patterns on the rock walls and ground inch by inch with the array's Heavenly Pivot. The effect of tracing the void traces made the historical trajectory of the vanished spatial passages faintly visible, and the number of spatial fissures that had once been opened in the entire space was astonishing.

Hundreds.

The rock walls, the ground, and even the dome were covered with the ripples left behind after the spatial rifts opened. These rifts varied in size and direction; some led into the depths of the void, while others were merely brief gaps torn in physical space.

Most of the cracks had completely closed and dissipated, leaving only ripple marks. However, at the edge of the space, Li Yuan sensed a few faint cracks that had not yet completely disappeared. These cracks were extremely small, less than a finger's width and only a few inches long, and were in the final stages of natural healing, destined to disappear completely in a few decades.

There were no props or supplies in the space.

There were no magical artifacts, no spiritual materials, no jade slips, and no elixirs. Even a single pebble had been cleaned up completely.

They were taken away. It is speculated that the Xuanyou Sect Master himself took all the valuables when he left.

Li Yuan randomly activated his spatial search technique.

The proficient level of spiritual energy detection waves were released within the folded space environment.

I sensed something.

An extremely vague sensation. An unusual spatial structure exists in a certain direction. However, the spatial folding technique greatly interferes with spatial searching. Within the folded space, the actual distance differs from the perceived distance; the spiritual energy detection wave undergoes multiple refractions and deflections between the folded layers, resulting in a severe decrease in positioning accuracy.

It can only sense the general direction, but cannot determine the distance or specific location.

Precise positioning requires further improvements in the accuracy of spatial exploration techniques or finding a way to overcome spatial folding interference.

Li Yuan memorized the directions he sensed and continued searching within the space.

They explored while simultaneously opening and closing spatial rifts.

A panel pops up.

The conditions for permanent void trace tracking (blue) have been met.

【Condition: Open a total of 100 spatial rifts √ (100/100)】

[Void Trace Tracing (Blue) has become a permanent entry]

The ancient bronze coin in the equipment slot shattered and disappeared.

A scene flashed into my mind.

There is a person in the picture.

An elderly man.

It was the sect leader of the Xuanyou Sect.

Although the Xuan You Sect Master who arrived first looked old, he was still quite vigorous. In the scene before him, the same person had aged considerably, with deep wrinkles on his face, and the sharpness in his eyes had faded considerably, replaced by a calm weariness.

The old man spoke.

His voice was hoarse, and he spoke slowly.

"Space research has come to an end; the Spirit Demon Compression has failed."

The old man's gaze fell on a rock wall in the corner of the stone chamber. The rock wall was covered with dense spiritual patterns, some of which were marked with red crosses.

"Breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage is hopeless."

The old man was silent for a moment, then continued.

"It's worth a try. The core of the Spirit Ruins Secret Realm is originally the core of a minor realm, and its status is not low. If we can use it to tear open a crack leading to the upper realm, even if it's not a complete passage, just a crack, perhaps a cultivator in the upper realm will sense the fluctuations and take the initiative to guide us."

The old man sighed.

"Unfortunately, in its current state, the chances of successfully manipulating the core of the secret realm to tear apart space are slim."

"The core of the Yao Guang Secret Realm is of a higher grade, making it more suitable for opening up passages than the core of the Ling Xu Secret Realm. However, that old monster from the Long Yuan Pavilion is still alive, and the Yao Guang Secret Realm is firmly controlled by the Long Yuan Pavilion, making it impossible for them to interfere."

The old man paused, his gaze becoming complicated.

"There is another path. Demonic cultivation techniques devour the essence of a large number of cultivators, forcibly breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. After breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, demonic cultivators also ascend to the upper realm and open up spiritual energy channels. This path does not require the core of a secret realm or a large spiritual vein; it only requires a sufficient amount of essence."

The old man lowered his head and looked at his hands.

"This demonic energy doesn't seem to originate from this world. The deeper you get into it, the more you realize its source is wrong. It's not in the same system as the fundamental frequency of the spiritual energy of this world. Perhaps it comes from the upper realm, or perhaps from another plane."

"But my state is irreversible. The fusion of spirit and demon is irreversible. I can't walk the pure path, nor can I walk the pure demonic path. I'm tainted by both, and I can't go either way."

At the end of the scene, the old man stood up and walked to the rock wall at the deepest part of the stone chamber.

The old man pressed his right hand on the air and reached out to take out an item.

The scene blurred the moment the old man reached out and took out the item, making it impossible to see what it was. All that could be seen was the old man putting the item into his sleeve and turning to walk towards the exit of the stone chamber.

As he reached the door, the old man turned back for one last look at the stone chamber.

The image disappeared.

Li Yuan opened his eyes.

A large amount of information settled in my mind.

Li Yuan stood in the dome space for a moment, piecing together all the information with the fragments he had previously acquired.

More and more clues are emerging, but the puzzle is far from complete.

Li Yuan turned and walked towards the entrance.

The relics remain here and will not disappear. The interference of spatial folding technology with spatial searching requires higher precision to overcome; precise positioning is not yet possible. We'll try again after spatial searching technology has been further improved.

Return to the surface along the original route and cover the entrance to the rock crevice with gravel again.

It transformed into a beam of light and flew away, heading back towards the Misty Forest Market.

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